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Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote has said the foreign exchange reforms that were introduced two years ago have made local productions of its foods and agriculture products “cheaper” than imports.
Dangote, represented by Aliyu Suleiman, group chief strategy officer of Dangote Group stated that the improving macroeconomic conditions of the country has helped the company double down on its production.
“One advantage of the reforms, like the FX reforms, is that it now makes local production cheaper versus imports,” Suleiman said during a fireside chat at BusinessDay’s 17th CEO Forum themed Nigeria: From reform to recovery held on Thursday in Lagos.
Read also: Dangote, Edun, Aswani lead dialogue at BusinessDay CEO Forum
“Sugar produced locally is actually cheaper than sugar that is imported. So in the area of agriculture, we have projects that will still continue.
According to Suleiman, prior to the reforms era, the company sourced its sugar from Brazil, one of the world’s largest producers, but with the naira devaluation, the firm has embarked on backward integration in sugar, rice mills, tomato to streamline operational costs.
Africa’s top oil producer embarked on two radical reforms in May/June 2023, including the removal of subsidies and allowing the currency to be more market-determined rather than the artificial pegging that has widened the exchange rate gap between the official and parallel markets.
The liberalisation of the naira saw the currency shed more than 41 percent of its value in 2024, pilling pressures on entities that were exposed to FX.
But the narrative is changing. The naira has become more stable freeing off the volatility of oil prices and heightened global tensions.
